Brexit news latest: Dominic Raab twice refuses to rule out suspending Parliament again if government loses Supreme Court ruling

Patrick Grafton-Green23 September 2019
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Dominic Raab twice refused to rule out suspending Parliament for a second time if the Government loses the Supreme Court ruling.

The Foreign Secretary discussed the ruling, which is expected in the coming days, this morning on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show.

It comes after a three-day hearing into Prime Minister Boris Johnson's hugely controversial suspension concluded on Thursday.

Mr Raab said: "We will see what the Supreme Court will decide.

Foreign secretary Dominic Raab said refused to rule out suspending Parliament for a second time
BBC One

"We are confident, we wouldn't have appealed the case if we weren't confident in the position that the Government had taken.

"I can reassure you, of course we are going to abide by the Supreme Court judgment."

However when asked if the Government would prorogue Parliament again if it loses the case, Mr Raab twice refused to give a straight answer.

He said: "I think, let's wait and see what the first judgment decides and then we'll understand the lie of the land."

Judges are considering appeals arising from two separate challenges in England and Scotland - which produced different outcomes - over Mr Johnson's advice to the Queen to suspend Parliament for five weeks until October 14.

Mr Raab's comment came as David Cameron warned Mr Johnson that “breaking the law is not a good idea”.

Speaking to Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday, the former PM said: “No deal is not a good idea. Breaking the law is not a good idea. Focus everything you’ve got on getting that deal, and that’s what he’s doing, to be fair to him.

“The most important thing he is trying to do, he has my support for, which is going to Brussels, getting a deal, bringing that deal and trying to end this period of uncertainty and I wish him well as he does that.”

The High Court had rejected businesswoman Gina Miller's challenge to Mr Johnson's prorogation, finding that it was "purely political" and not a matter for the courts.

But in Scotland, a cross-party group of MPs and peers won a ruling from the Inner House of the Court of Session that the suspension decision was unlawful because it was "motivated by the improper purpose of stymieing Parliament".

Mrs Miller and the Government both then appealed against those decisions, resulting in last week's hearing at the Supreme Court.

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